1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and program for transferring data between servers through a client computer over a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today, consumers may purchase numerous products, services, and financial instruments, e.g., stocks, bonds, indexes, options, etc., using an Internet web browser, e.g., NETSCAPE Communicator, the MICROSOFT Internet Explorer, etc.** Consumers also use various search engine services available on the Internet that locate different sales agents for a product to allow price comparisons. One disadvantage of purchasing products on-line over the Internet is that the buyer is not assured that the price is fair. For instance, if a consumer is using a web browser to purchase stock from an on-line brokerage over the Internet, the consumer may be concerned that the price the brokerage is displaying or selling to the consumer is not the current price of the stock. To find the current price when the transaction occurs, the consumer would have to access the centralized exchange to determine the real-time price when the transaction, e.g., sale or purchase, was executed. NETSCAPE is a registered trademark of the Netscape Communications Corporation; WINDOWS, MICROSOFT, and ACTIVEX are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation; JAVA is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Recently, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Arthur Levitt expressed concern that investors may not be getting the best prices when trading securities online over the Internet. Mr. Levitt said that a central exchange that could inform consumers of current prices would help alleviate unfair pricing concerns.
A similar concern arises in the context of purchasing airline tickets on-line from an on-line travel agent. Again, consumers may be concerned whether the price they are getting is “fair” or the best price they can get in the context of the price set by the airline carrier. Moreover, when purchasing very expensive products, such as jewelry, an automobile, etc., the consumer may be concerned whether the price they are being charged from the on-line agent selling the product is “fair” or the best they can do.
Such consumer uncertainty over the fairness of the “price” being charged may discourage on-line purchases.
For these reasons, there is a need to provide mechanisms to make consumers confident about the fairness of the price they are being charged for a product.